I'm looking at running a one-shot game of the Robot Masters from Mega Man 1, 3, (maybe) 4, and (again, maybe) 6 realizing Wily's just used them all and now they're out to get their due from him. In the way, though, will be the remaining loyal Robot Masters and their respective levels, where they're now teaming up for added power. The PCs will have to face not only the loyals, but also the various minor enemies that have given the Mega Man games their flavor and the inevitable castle level. However, I've got some problems.

1) How do I make the Robot Masters? I understand that apparently the Super Powers Companion allows you to make a robot character. However, given that the entire setting is going to be about robot-on-robot violence (and as much roleplaying as I can figure out how to cram in) I don't know that it would behoove me to include things that differentiate robots from fleshy ones as I figured the robots' weapons would affect each other as though they were people anyway, so I thought it would be a wash. If everything's acting on a footing equal to humans fighting humans, then I'd think anything specifically dealing with constructs would just add complication to the calculations.

1a) The other issue there is how to make them so they have their signature powers (such as Elec Man's Thunder Beam or Hard Man's Hard Knuckle) without having to ration them out. I'm thinking Elec Man should not only be able to shoot electricity but absorb it, but because the Thunder Beam is his main weapon he shouldn't just have a few shots of it and then have to resort to "You brute, you brute, you vicious brute! *cry*"-style slapfighting. I want to build them as masters of whatever they represent while still being accurate to their weaknesses, so while Fire Man won't bat an optic receptor at anything heat-based, cold weapons would put severe strain on his heated frame. Likewise, sharp objects (like the Rolling Cutter, although Cut Man will be an available PC) would punch right through Elec Man's relatively thin shell. SWEX has Elemental Manipulation as minor tricks, but I don't see a way to build a character who can, say, throw out a cluster of tornadoes.

2) How do I turn this from the straight-up dungeon crawl a Mega Man game traditionally is so I can get some good character interaction out of these guys? I'm kind of drawing a blank on this.

3) Can anybody spot any other kind of potential hang-ups? For instance, I'm not sure what Rank to put them at.

1) Robots would be immune to poison and disease (except computer viruses), and would require Repair checks rather than Healing. That's about all you need.

I'd also look into the Construct monstrous ability. It's a really great ability so you might want to tone it down a bit. I'd get rid of the +2 to recover from shaken. And I'd only allow them to ignore wound penalties to Vigor checks, not other checks. (This represents how robots are always getting smashed up and crippled, but not at much risk of death; see the end of Terminator, or many of C3PO's scenes in Empire Strikes Back.) The regular Construct ability might be good for some of the more brainless robot enemies (like hard-hat guys, robot ostriches, etc.).

1a) I'd just use AB: Robot, with a couple of Power Points edges to bump them up to 20 or so PP depending on the robot master. It's hard to use that much PP in a single fight unless it is THE fight.

If you want to mimic the games, enemies occasionally drop power pellets when they die (the pellet has 1d6 PP in it, and loses 1 PP per round until it disappears). This way Elec Man doesn't need to slap-fight. ;}

I think the bolt power, or other attack powers, with suitable trappings will cover most of the Robot Masters. You can give each a bonus/penalty to Toughness based on their abilities, too. Like Heat Man might have a Toughness +8 against heat (or just immunity to heat and fire) but Toughness -4 against water. (Some, like Metal Man, are actually vulnerable to their own element.) Some robot masters may have other powers, like Wood Man's armor or Guts Man's boost (Self Strength only, but maybe it boosts 2 levels, 3 on a raise).

2) Well, in the game, the levels are presented as static -- "Here are 8 levels where the robot masters have already taken over and now they sit and wait for you to attack." Instead, make this dynamic. At the beginning, there's an evil robot master attacking a train. While the heroes fight him off, some OTHER robot masters have taken over a hoverpod factory and a robot amusement park! etc. Make sure these are dynamic environments with moving parts, kidnapped civilians, surrounded by the SWAT team, etc.

Also, try letting some robot masters escape and reappear later. Some of the X series does this with recurring mini-villains, but no reason why each robot master must be limited to their one level.

Of course in a one-shot a straight-up dungeon crawl is not a bad plan. Too keep it interesting I would add 1) time pressure, 2) some way for the bad guys to taunt the PCs before the big fight and 3) many "interactive" elements. By this interactive elements, I mean, solid walls and deep pits are boring; hover-platforms, pipes that flow throughout the complex, exploding chemical canisters, and snowmobiles, are interesting. Even if you can't think of ways these might be used, your players will.

3) One issue is players either not knowing the source material, or being unhappy playing pre-generated characters. Another issue is Mega Man's signature ability -- to copy the powers of the robot masters. I don't see either being a real problem in a one-shot. I'd make the characters Seasoned or Veteran but try to keep the builds simple -- fewer edges and powers, more increases to abilities, skills and PP -- so that the players don't get overwhelmed by character complexity.

Let us know how this goes and please share any materials you come up with. I always liked the Mega Man games but felt the story/setting was mishandled in later years -- it had a strong core that could have become a franchise but somehow just became weird and self-derivative.

Nick Zachariasen wrote:1a) The other issue there is how to make them so they have their signature powers (such as Elec Man's Thunder Beam or Hard Man's Hard Knuckle) without having to ration them out.

Powers. If you can't find an existing power that works (such as bolt for Thunder Beam), make one.

I'm thinking Elec Man should not only be able to shoot electricity but absorb it but because the Thunder Beam is his main weapon he shouldn't just have a few shots of it and then have to resort to "You brute, you brute, you vicious brute! *cry*"-style slapfighting.

Give them "reserve" points that can only be used for their signature weapon, maybe?

I want to build them as masters of whatever they represent while still being accurate to their weaknesses, so while Fire Man won't bat an optic receptor at anything heat-based, cold weapons would put severe strain on his heated frame. Likewise, sharp objects (like the Rolling Cutter, although Cut Man will be an available PC) would punch right through Elec Man's relatively thin shell.

Special invulnerabilities and weaknesses, similar to the ones given to powerful enemies like the Bone Fiend in Deadlands: Reloaded.

SWEX has Elemental Manipulation as minor tricks, but I don't see a way to build a character who can, say, throw out a cluster of tornadoes.

Powers again.

2) How do I turn this from the straight-up dungeon crawl a Mega Man game traditionally is so I can get some good character interaction out of these guys? I'm kind of drawing a blank on this.

You don't have to make the entire thing a dungeon crawl. The excursions into a Robot Master's lair don't have to be the entirety of the game. You could have them hunting for clues as to Wily's location or the layout of their next target's secret base.

3) Can anybody spot any other kind of potential hang-ups? For instance, I'm not sure what Rank to put them at.

Probably Seasoned.

Spirit, that made those heroes dare,To die, and leave their children free,Bid Time and Nature gently spareThe shaft we raise to them and thee. - Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Concord Hymn"

Just to clarify something, Mega Man will not be playable. This is basically going to be some kind of twisted combination of The Warriors and Inglorious Basterds, with the robots Dr. Light (and maybe Dr. Cossack and the builders of the ones from 6) co-built as the PCs. Guts Man will, of course, play the part of the Stutz Bear Jew.

I'm not sure the robots in the setting actually fall under "constructs." If a Called Shot would affect them, and they would suffer a penalty for wounds (even if not for pain, but for the damage), then Construct could be ignored.

Without the SPC, you could use a quick and dirty permanent power option. Just permanently spend the PP cost in the core rulebook to gain the ability to have the power permanently.

For instance with 10 PPs, a strong bot spends 6 PPs to buy Boost Trait (Strength) three times for +3 die types to Strength. Then maybe he spends the other 4 PPs to buy Armor twice for +4 Armor.

A bot with a ranged attack might spend 2 PPs to buy a 3d6 Bolt. To use it, they would roll Shooting for the attack. Maybe it shorts out or overheats for a round if a 1 is rolled on the Trait die or maybe the user is Shaken. If the bot spends 6 PPs, he could buy the ability to fire three 3d6 bolts.

It's not 100% and it will take some tweaking, but it could get you in the ballpark.

Given that having no hands would be a Major Hindrance on par with blindness, what would you suggest as an added benefit besides the 2 points? A few RMs, like Spark Man and Needle Man, don't have hands.

NO HANDS (Major) Either you've lost both arms in an accident, or your species just doesn't have any hands! (If your species has tentacles or something else that works just like a hand, this Hindrance does not apply.) You can't wield weapons, and any activity requiring fine manipulation (like writing or picking a lock or picking things up) is at a -4 penalty, if the GM allows it at all. This drawback is so severe, that you are entitled to a free Edge of your choice to compensate for it.

All right, I've gotten access to the Super Powers Companion. One thing I'm having problems with is Top Man's Top Spin. I'm going to work it as a maxed-out Deflection (or maybe, because of the complete invulnerability, Intangibility) defensively and Attack, Melee offensively, possibly with Extra Actions thrown in if I can find the points. Now, because he has to rest between spins, I know I should give it Requires Activation on both. However, the problem I'm having is how much that should affect the cost.

What I'm currently thinking is that he can only use the attack every other round. It activates on his action and is on until his next action. Then he can't use it again until the next round. My instinct is to say that this should be worth at least -2 to the cost when normally a character could just spam their power in question ad nauseum.

Of course, if I go the Intangibility route and have it only good for one attack, on top of also having him be vulnerable to things like tripping, then I'm still unsure of how much it should be worth because it still would be at most every other round, but the protection would be total. Maybe I should create a Limited Duration limitation for powers that persist, whether through maintenance or just inherently? For that matter, just how long is a power that Requires Activation normally considered to last before it reactivates, anyway?

My other current dilemma, which is in a similar vein, is with Air Man. He can push or pull a target with his fan, which is basically a very limited Telekinesis. How should I cost that?

The reason I'm worrying about cost is that I'm trying to stat them all on equal footing, PCs and NPCs alike. Also, Top Man is a PC. The ones from Mega Man 1 and 3 are available as PCs. I feel that equality is only fair to the players, plus I'd like to see them try to convert some of the other RMs with a good speech and Persuasion roll rather than merely blowing the computing daylights out of them all. I'm thinking any disloyal RMs can be held in reserve to continue the assault in the event the originals fall. I am, of course, expecting heavy casualties on all sides.

Edit: Here's another question. If Gemini Man's "twin" can't use Attack, Ranged, what should that be worth in a cost reduction for Duplication? I'm thinking -2, but -1 might be more appropriate due to the sheer utility of having an entire at-will sidekick around. I know the power inherently has some "tell" to the dupe, but given that it's supposed to be an "exact" duplicate I'd think it should normally be able to use all the abilities the "core" character has.

Nick Zachariasen wrote:Edit: Here's another question. If Gemini Man's "twin" can't use Attack, Ranged, what should that be worth in a cost reduction for Duplication? I'm thinking -2, but -1 might be more appropriate due to the sheer utility of having an entire at-will sidekick around. I know the power inherently has some "tell" to the dupe, but given that it's supposed to be an "exact" duplicate I'd think it should normally be able to use all the abilities the "core" character has.

How does this work exactly? Can he not use his Attack, Ranged while duplicated or does he have it but the duplicate does not?

Nick Zachariasen wrote:I was actually thinking that he has it but the dupe doesn't.

Okay, then if it only affects the duplicate, I'd just make it a trapping of the Duplication power.

It's a limitation on the duplicate, so give the power an advantage to counter it. Like increase the range for the duplicate to 10" and/or increase the penalty to -4 or -6 to tell the difference (without the ranged attack giving it away).

Yorktown wrote:Simply say that he can't use it for such-and-such a period. You're the Game Master. You can do that.

Yes, I realize this. However, when normally you can buy a power and spam it round after round after round, that's normal for the listed cost. However, I'd think that it should be reduced somehow— say, by half?— if it's only usable half the time.

Yorktown wrote:Simply say that he can't use it for such-and-such a period. You're the Game Master. You can do that.

Yes, I realize this. However, when normally you can buy a power and spam it round after round after round, that's normal for the listed cost. However, I'd think that it should be reduced somehow— say, by half?— if it's only usable half the time.

Hey, I just checked out a YouTube video that clearly shows both Geminis using their ranged attack. Does this solve the problem?

Well, they shoot their little regular pew-pew arms guns, but only the single one uses the Gemini Laser. I think Clint's suggestion works, making it a trapping but compensating for it. Top Man's still getting me a bit, though.

Nick Zachariasen wrote:I think Clint's suggestion works, making it a trapping but compensating for it. Top Man's still getting me a bit, though.

Same thing for Top Man really. Intangibility doesn't allow the character to affect the "solid world" in any way. Just say by virtue of the trapping, he can affect the solid world in a limited way (perhaps Damage Field for hurting anything he comes in contact with, removes the need for extra actions), but he can only use the power every other action.

It's not much different from "be intangible this round and unhurtable, then turn it off to be able to attack next round." He's still getting (partial) invulnerability and an attack every other round. While he could still take another action on the round he can't use the power, there's the additional downside that his limitation is known. Stay out of his way this round, and he'll be vulnerable the next.